palmOne is getting into the retail business with a number of small palmOne cafes. The cafe's are small retail outlets where customers can get hands on with the latest palmOne handhelds with help and PDA advice from a knowledgeable staff.

Been there?

RE: Been there?

I have been to the one in Valley Fair, CA. They are nice, it's a good opportunity to get to play with all of the devices. I'm not sure about the level of expertise from the staffers of the booths though. I stood there and played with a Zire and took some pictures and nobody even came up to say hi.

RE: Been there?

Been checking out the one at Valley Fair, CA for some time now (especially since the T|T3 was released). You can hold and play with all the devices, but they only have one of each on display, so it can be difficult to get some play time. They have a WiFi access point so you can get online with the T|C. I would say the staff is equivalent to what you would find at Best Buy.

I was surprised to see this article now. The kiosk in Valley Fair has been around for some time (since summer?). Defiantly was there before the Zire 71 was released.

RE: Been there?

I went to the one in Oakridge Mall (San Jose, CA) and while it was cool to be able to play with all the models, the salespeople are far less knowledgable than the typical PIC reader (for example, they couldn't answer my question about changing the brightness on a T3)

RE: Been there?

I have been to the one in Pleasanton, CA several times when the T3 came out. It has also been there for some time.

Same concerns. The sales staff were not very knowledgable. For example, I wanted to quickly buy another Palm Portable Keyboard..... They told me it was DISCONTINUED and my only choice was either the Ultra-Thin or the Wireless.

So when I returned home, I ordered the keyboard from PalmOne's web site!

RE: Been there?

I've been to the one at Stoneridge Mall (Pleasanton, CA). It was ok. The staff didn't hover over you, or bothered you. I liked that. They did keep an eye on every one to make sure no one had "sticky fingers".

They didn't serve coffee there, which is what a "cafe" is supposed to be. Another misuse of a word. :-(

RE: Been there?

“…the salespeople are far less knowledgable than the typical PIC reader…”“…Too bad I knew more about the Tungsten|T then the clerk there...”

Considering the average kiosk worker--that I have seen--is a part-time college student, this is not a high-paying gig. The average PIC reader has a level of knowledge that could stump most of the folks in the Palm corporate office much less the folks at the kiosks.

For what they get paid, I would be surprised if they were expected to know more than standard marketing material. Anyone who knows more is probably a fellow PIC reader. :)

RE: Been there?

Well, I'm incredibly biased, but I thought it was great. Not a store that people need to make this concious decision to walk into, you just glance the devices and can go over to play with them.... it's not corrupted by a bunch of PocketPC's next to them with a CircuitCity guy trying to make you purchase them for commision, it's just a great place to look at the new PalmOne stuff... I think they're great.

RE: Been there?

Yes, there's no coffee. I don't know why Palm(One) thinks they can misuse such a common word and engender any sort of positive reaction. I will never set foot in a place that calls itself a cafe, and doesn't even try to be what it says it is.

RE: Been there?

I think the kiosks are quite stunning in design and the salespeople I have dealt with at the San Francisco location are quite knowledgable. And to the guy that posted the cafe/no coffee comment, I feel sorry for you that you let that affect you in such a way.

RE: Missing parts?

I once unstole an Ipaq stylus. I carried my Mono Ipaq with me all the time, so when there were none in the color Ipaqs at the Circuit City I used my own. Then I absent-mindedly stuck it back in the demo model. I got all the way home and noticed the "untheft" the next time I pulled my Ipaq out to use. Went back to CC and no one noticed at all as I restole my own stylus.

RE: Missing parts?

Timothy Rapson wrote:>I once unstole an Ipaq stylus. I carried my Mono Ipaq >with me all the time, so when there were none in the >color Ipaqs at the Circuit City I used my own. Then I >absent-mindedly stuck it back in the demo model. I >got all the way home and noticed the "untheft" the >next time I pulled my Ipaq out to use. Went back to >CC and no one noticed at all as I restole my own >stylus.

That is classic! Laughed good on that one thinking to myself, "what if he got caught restealing his own stylus back"? That would have made a funny story even better ;)

RE: Palm Cafes

Hey, how come Palm(One) hasn't opened up one of their "cafes" in New York City? This is the heart of the retail world with over 10 million people in the city and local suburbs... it would be great to go to 1 of these places and try all the new Palms and accessories...hope someone at Palm is reading this.

Location, Location, Location

New York is Expensive... and while it has the foot traffic to warrant it, multiple kiosks might be needed, I've noticed on my trips to NY that people tend to stay in one area unless they are going someplace specific. Someone who has a destination in mind might not be likely to stray into a Kiosk - so multiple locations and lots of $$$.

I'm surprised they haven't tried for airports. Captive audience, time to browse, and most likely able to afford the product. Now if you could also buy software at these Kiosks (IR, Bluetooth, MMC, SD, ect.) Then They might have a real growth market. As many PIC readers know, not many people who own base palms even realize that there is other software available. Show-off the hi-end models and allow people to see what they are capable of and they strike it rich...

Personally speaking, I wouldn't mind one of those Kiosks here in the Frozen Tundra (otherwise known as Minnesota). Put one in Huge-dale (aka Mall of America) and they'd reach a much broader audience. There are people who fly here just to go SHOPPING, they'd nail anyone with that kind of disposable income.

As I said, location, Location, LOCATION!

Mike AllwittLogic X Design, Inc Database Consulting

- Yeh, it's cool. Was it supposed to do that?

RE: Location, Location, Location

Actually I think we should wait for PalmOne to actually deploy their locations. Its not like this has been in act for a couple of years already. I'm sure they'll sent a couple to NYC. To all the major locations first then to the small ones.

They deployed it in LA? Well thats wierd, why deploy all 3 there? Maybe they wanted to see it...ah I'll never understand PalmOne..no wait...that was for sony...

Ah I'll never understand anyone..

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More than just a Palm

I think the Kiosks might be a great way to show that a Palm is more than just a "Palm". These hardware devices can run all kinds of software. They could/should set up the devices with software to show spreadsheets, email, even games. People can see Palm hardware displays anywhere, here is a great chance to show that the hardware has legs to do more than keep their dates and addresses. Should that included shareware... maybe. As long as people understand that it isn't built in. It could open the eyes of a family member looking to buy one as a gift, etc...

-----------------My wife has to sell a lot of candles (www.ccandles.com) to buy her new Palm.

How many times have we seen this.

You: standing at the "PDA Display" at your "favorite Electronics store" when a Newbie walks up and asks the, er' SalesDude: "My friend has a Palm Pilot & he/she thinks I should get one too; but there are so many - I don't know which one I should get" SalesDude: (thinking about that pocket PC spiff) "Oh, this one is the Microsoft palm-Pocket PC. It does everything a Palm OS handheld does and even more because it uses MS Windows; Do you use MS Windows?"...

Yeah, we saw this more times than we could intervene. Do you think this had a factor in the Palm Store idea?

Been to the SF PalmOne kiosk

And there's not all that much to see. It's a few tables with demo units and a central island/storage area where you can buy PalmOne PDAs and a few selected accessories. Nice for branding but not so great if you're looking for anything more than a PDA at full price. Although the sales reps do seem to be reasonably well-informed, at least the ones I met.

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